As the world starts to contemplate a post-COVID-19 future, hoteliers are realizing that even with travel returning, business will not be going back to “normal.” Adapting to a new normal will be a challenge and an opportunity for hoteliers to re-evaluate the systems and resources they currently have in place and make changes that will set them up for long-term success. “The new normal is new every single day,” said Tanya Pratt, VP of upper cloud strategy and management at Oracle. “As soon as a hotelier settles into a new normal, it changes.”
Automating crucial processes can help hotels survive, and even thrive, during recovery. Hoteliers should look for “set it and forget it” property-management system features like dynamic pricing, scheduled reports and automated guest correspondence to save hours of staff time every day, said Victor Vesnaver, COO of RMS North America. “A system with detailed reporting and integrated accounting can also provide hoteliers real-time visibility into their property’s performance and enable data-driven decision-making as new information becomes available and the market changes quickly,” he said.
With the ability to control, automate and accelerate a wider range of operational procedures, a modern PMS helps hoteliers do more with much less while simultaneously offering the contactless options guests now expect. “Through its ability to seamlessly integrate with a property's booking engine and [customer relationship management system], hoteliers can easily introduce online check-in, digital keycards and more, without risking interruption to property operations,” said Rohith Kori, VP of product and corporate strategy at Agilysys. “Additionally, mobile-optimized designs ensure enhanced guest satisfaction throughout the contactless experience.”
Pratt suggested that hoteliers should look at the manual and repeatable tasks on property and automate those processes. “Those are often things that need to be done but don’t necessarily offer any value to the hotel or the guest,” she said. “Using artificial intelligence to automate those tasks, such as assigning rooms, hoteliers can realize efficiencies. Automating and digitizing other tasks allows the staff to spend time with guests.”
Adapting or updating a PMS to the needs of a post-coronavirus traveler has some challenges, depending on the type of property and the type of guest experience the traveler is accustomed to receiving. High-touch operations will want to keep the opportunity to connect with the guest on some level in person, but offer options to minimize that interaction as well, such as using a digital registration card the guest can receive and sign on their own personal device ahead of arrival or upon check-in, said Audrey MacRae, VP at Maestro PMS. There are operational considerations with touchless technologies around such areas as credit card handling and signature/id capture. These can be done digitally assuming the hotel accepts the liability for not having a credit card chipped or swiped on arrival, and guests would clearly like to avoid the need to touch an EMV device if possible.
“Guests also appreciate the ability to be engaged post check-in to the room, using familiar technology such as text messages, which can be used by the property to address service requests or for the property to get immediate feedback on the guests in-house experience post check-in,” she continued. “For properties with spa or activities available, we see good adoption with the ability for the guest to fill in a waiver on their own personal device, make bookings and booking changes independently online. A single guest itinerary provides guests an excellent snapshot of their stay details at check-in again received by the guest in a touchless way via email.”
An on-premise system makes it difficult to store, build, or update guest profiles and data across various technology solutions at the property, said Iain Saxton, SVP, strategist, CRS and PMS, hospitality at Amadeus. “Personalized guest service is much easier if your PMS is cloud-based and can centralize data,” he said. “Make sure your technology ecosystem can leverage seamless API connectivity with the PMS provider to access all the relevant details needed for each guest stay.”
What Hoteliers Should be Asking their PMS Provider
With all the new technology, integrations and needs of both hoteliers and guests on-property, what questions should hoteliers be asking of a new property-management system provider? We asked the PMS experts what are the key points hoteliers need to be asking prior to making any purchases.
- How easily and quickly can a PMS integrate with other systems and technologies? “It’s all fine and dandy to have the greatest PMS system but if it can’t easily connect with other systems, the value of the PMS is greatly diminished,” Pratt said.
- Ask “prove-it” questions. StayNTouch CRO Michael Heflin suggested that hoteliers should ask to see case studies and data of how a PMS can be a revenue generation for their property. He also said those case study should illustrate how a PMS can offer increased operational efficiency with the less staff or at least be more productive with the same amount of staff. “A provider should be able to show evidence of the value of their PMS,” Heflin said. “They should also be supportive of your vision – they should be implementing your vision for your property.”
- How quickly can your PMS react to a changing hospitality environment? In the light of the pandemic and it’s massive implications to hotel operations, PMS providers must be at the leading edge of innovation, Visual Matrix COO Charlie Rhodes said. “PMS providers must be able to swiftly adapt to unprecedented environments,” he said. “Travel's post-pandemic recovery, for example, requires hoteliers to be more flexible than ever before—and properties partnered with adaptable PMS providers will certainly emerge ahead of competitors.”
- How quickly can I onboard my staff to your PMS? “With the challenges in the hotel hiring landscape right now, hoteliers need easy-to-use software to quickly onboard staff,” said Aditya Thyagarajan, president and co-founder at HotelKey. Hoteliers have less time to train and many legacy on-premise systems are complex, so it’s better to choose a system with a modern, intuitive browser-based design, said Saxton.
- Does your PMS natively support outboard marketing to guests? A PMS with built-in marketing tools will have the ability to send targeted email campaigns to contact lists pulled from guest records based on specific criteria, such as canceled reservations or how long ago guests stayed at the hotel. “A fully integrated PMS also gives hoteliers the ability to automatically apply promotional rates to their booking engine when guests click a link in a marketing email,” Vesnaver said. “Built-in marketing analytics can help hoteliers track the effectiveness of email campaigns such as the number of emails delivered, open rate, and click rate.”
- How is your platform designed to meet the unique needs of my property? “The operational challenges of a boutique property are much different than those faced by a global chain, and equipment the right system is ital to ensuring a hotelier is successfully maximizing efficiency,” Kori said.
- Does the PMS have robust distribution capabilities? Now is the time for hoteliers to ensure their PMS has the features and functionality they need to achieve their business goals as travel returns. “In addition to updating websites with relevant content and having a strong SEO strategy in place, hoteliers should look for a PMS with a built-in internet booking engine and integrated channel manager to make sure they’re reaching as many people and capturing as many reservations as possible through both direct bookings and OTAs,” Vesnaver said.